There was an interesting thought that occurred to me as I was saving the world from the Mayan apocalypse. “Wow, there was a lot of awesome stuff that happened this year in popular culture,” I wondered out loud to the oblivious demon as my fists met with its mucous sweating nose. Since I was making short work of the grotesque army of darkness, I thought that I would take a look at some of the more memorable moments in entertainment in 2012.
Even as I was reciting the ancient incantation to close the enormous crack in the Earth that vomited out the vile creatures of the night, I was refining the list to a deserving four. I was certain that future generations will look back and not only see 2012 as the year “Wallace the Invincible” defied fate and saved the world, but also the year that these future classics made a huge impact on the pop culture world.
4. The Walking Dead
If zombies are getting a little on the passé side in recent years, someone forgot to tell that to the makers of The Walking Dead.
If you try to wade through any type of social media on Monday nights, you will be soaked in Walking Dead comments. The show seems to inspire tweets in all caps with multiple exclamation points. Sometimes, you’ll even see the declaration of a major plot points without taking into account those who may not be caught up on the show. It’s almost enough to make me wish I hadn’t gotten rid of cable all those years ago.
Luckily for gamers who hate spoilers, conversations about the Telltale game tend to sound more like they were spoken in a different language. People who haven’t played the game can only wonder what those who have mean when they talk about, “That one thing you gotta do after the major twist of that episode.” Finding someone who hasn’t played the game is getting increasingly difficult, thankfully for those who want to discuss it openly. The Walking Dead episodic game has been a huge hit with gamers and even took home our Game of the Year award. Without focusing too much on zombie killing action, the real meat of the game comes from making split second decisions and having to live with the choices that you make through the remaining episodes until it climaxes with an emotional ending that I would be banished from writing if I gave away.
Even the comic that was the basis for the show and game has had a surge in popularity. Anything that encourages people to read; especially comics, is alright with me.
3. Avengers
What can I say about Marvel’s The Avengers that hasn’t already been covered in my review?
With Disney putting Joss Whedon in the driver seat of one of the biggest gambles in motion picture history, they created a phenomenon that many, including me, swore you would never see happen. You couldn’t go to a movie theater, a grocery store, or even talk to most people without someone somewhere wanting to talk about The Avengers.
Gaining an unheard of amount of critical praise and an unimaginable of amount of our money; Avengers outclassed even The Dark Knight Rises when compared side by side in those terms.
Fast paced, fun and entertaining, Marvel’s The Avengers sets up the future of the Marvel movie franchises and frankly, I can’t wait.
2. Star Wars/Disney
I can’t be the only one who read the news that and thought someone was messing around.
After seeing a post on Facebook saying that Disney had bought LucasFilm, I chuckled a little since I knew that this was impossible news. As I continued scrolling through my feed, it became clear that not only was the article accurate; but I needed immediate medical attention to re-attach my jaw, which had hit the floor.
In a matter of hours we went from living in a world that didn’t have any future Star Wars films to being promised three. In a matter of days we were promised even more films and given a list of nerd-approved writers who were involved.
This is exactly the type of world I would hope to be in and it is all because Disney is on an acquisition spending spree and I think that most of us are ok with that. In fact, I wish they would just buy Warner Bros. Then we could get some quality DC/Marvel crossover movies that would cause tears of joy to stream down my face.
1. Gangnam Style
I’m not even certain why I even think I need to write a description here. I’m also not even certain how in the world I would even start to describe the phenomenon. The only thing I really need to tell you that the song and its music video is probably the best case for the existence of audio/visual hypnotism.
As of this writing, the music video on Korean pop singer Psy’s YouTube channel is over one billion views making it the most watched video on all of YouTube. That figure doesn’t even take into account the multitude of unofficial YouTube postings, live performances, and covers. Even more telling is the fact that over five million of those people “Liked” the video.
I have chosen not to believe the people who decided to down vote the video. It seems like a strange concept that something that brings so much joy to that many people could do anything other than please every other person on Earth. I’m not saying that people have differing tastes; far from it. I just know that I have a pretty strong dislike for pop music in general and somehow “Gangnam Style” makes me start riding an invisible pony, no matter the setting. This has led to several moments of my life that I can only describe as “unfortunate.”
So as I survey this great land populated by the energetic dance moves of a Korean pop sensation, well written post-apocalyptic zombie drama and more currently, the husks of what was once doomsday soldiers; I’m glad that the world is safe from the forces of the underworld once again. I’m excited to see what future entertainment awaits us.
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